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Feds: Ohio man arrested for attempting to provide support to ISIS

Laith Waleed Alebbini, 26, of Dayton, was arrested Wednesday evening at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

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Updated: 11:30 AM CDT Apr 27, 2017

WLWTSOURCE: WLWT

Feds: Ohio man arrested for attempting to provide support to ISIS

Laith Waleed Alebbini, 26, of Dayton, was arrested Wednesday evening at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

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Updated: 11:30 AM CDT Apr 27, 2017

HEBRON, Ky. —

A man was arrested Wednesday at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport for attempting to provide material support or resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, federal officials said.

Laith Waleed Alebbini, 26, of Dayton, was arrested Wednesday evening.

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Officials said Alebbini, a citizen of Jordan and a legal permanent resident of the United States as of April 2014, attempted to travel to Syria via a flight to Turkey or Jordan in order to fight with the Islamic State group against Syrian leadership.

Federal officials said that Alebbini was known to authorities. In January, he was arrested for unlawful entry into the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C. He refused to say why he was on the property, but officials said Alebbini muttered, "You are going to regret this," while being escorted off the property.

Days later, authorities said, he attempted to travel to Turkey via Amsterdam, but was denied entry because his Joranian passport had expired.

While being interviewed in connection to the Turkish Embassy incident, federal officials said Alebbini admitted to posting pro-Islamic State videos to his Facebook page in the past, and reportedly told officials "I am the perfect recruit for ISIS."

Federal officials also claim that Alebinni said security at the embassy was very lax, adding, “If I had a bomb on me, I swear to God, three embassies would be gone by now.”

Following a lengthy investigation, authorities learned that Alebinni was scheduled to depart from Cincinnati and fly to Jordon. After he obtained his boarding pass, he was arrested by Transportation Security Administration agents and law enforcement officers.

He was taken to the FBI’s office in Cincinnati, where he admitted that he intended to fly to Turkey and then join and fight for the Islamic State group, federal officials said.Alebbini is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in U.S. District Court in Dayton before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Newman.